Kill The Mocking
by CosmicDreams
Summary: Things will twist in chapter 7 once I write it. Thanks for reading!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Mayor Gregory Lizen sat at his spacious desk, gazing out the glass wall to his right. His office had a beautiful view. Most of Gotham was out there below him. Its never-ending skyscrapers and businesses clustered together. It was always buzzing with activity, even at night. Unfortunately it was usually criminals who were active, but the mayor did all he could. Running a city this corrupted was hard work. He was a close friend to Bruce Wayne's father, and was a temporary businessman for Wayne Enterprises. Because of his close connections to all the big names in the city, he was first pick as mayor when Mayor Dickenson was assassinated a few years ago by the Joker. Thankfully, that lunatic is locked up forever at Arkham Asylum.

It is 8 AM right now, but Lizen got here at 7 like usual to set up the day's to-do list. It was pretty much finished now and he knew what to do in what order. Though he was organized and the citizens liked him, he wanted to hand his job to someone else. He felt that he didn't care enough for the citizens to stay as a mayor. The city was on the brink of going to hell anyway, if not already.

Lizen's secretary came in to give his daily cup of coffee and doughnut from the lobby. He thanked her and set his pen down. His secretary was a pretty young lady. Her name was Kathy Eglewood. She was in her early twenties and had a slim figure and blonde hair. She was a pleasure to work with. He never planned on doing anything with her, even though he was lonely. His wife divorced him right after he took the position as mayor. She was too scared for him and he wouldn't back down. She's now off in California somewhere, married to a much wealthier man.

Gregory Lizen's body hurt. It always hurt now, bone cancer rapidly spreading, plaguing everything. He was too young for cancer. He was 42 years old and led a very unfulfilling and painful life. He wanted a break, but he couldn't simply take the day off and go golfing somewhere. Being a mayor of Gotham was like being a prisoner. He couldn't go anywhere. Even if he wanted to he couldn't without cameras and microphones being shoved in his face. He was tired of Gotham. The city was beyond repair. Even Batman couldn't keep the streets spotless. Lizen needed to find someone to become the next mayor and fast. He needed to get away from this chaos. He reviewed his to-do list for the third time.

Not to his liking, he owed a visit to Arkahm Asylum today. He had to do a check-up on it. He had to make sure its prisoners were being shown some level of humanity and treated correctly. The facility must be up to standards. Though the Asylum was supposedly tight on security didn't mean the place never gave anyone the chills or nightmares. It was a scary place, and no one would want to go near there unless they had to. The mayor couldn't find anyone to offhand this task unfortunately, so it seemed it was just him going. Lizen could think of a million other things to do than taking a field trip to the asylum. He decided to go in the early afternoon. Hopefully the visit would only take an hour tops.

While the mayor was dreading his visit to the asylum, a buzzer sounded in the ignoble confinement, waking up every sleeping soul which laid in it. The guards immediately started to make their morning rounds in response. One of the older guards, Mike Cricket, was always in charge of checking the first floor of the maximum security wing. He was responsible for looking after 100 prisoners which all were equally unstable and menacing. The most dangerous of prisoners were kept in this wing and all of them managed to irritate and intimidate him, but only one truly frightened him. That prisoner was in the last jail cell at the end of the fifth row and was the craziest man ever known. Everyone called him the Joker and was locked here now for the sole reason of assassinating Mayor Dickenson.

The Joker was a horrible man with white make up on his face and green hair. He had scars upturned at the corners of his mouth, making it look like a heartless smile. He had no name, and not a hint of a record showing birth or any previous crimes. He was nonexistent until he visited Gotham a few years back. Why the judge didn't order him a death sentence is beyond anyone. Sure the man was crazy, but he had to have known the difference between right and wrong.

Mike Cricket was satisfied though as of now, seeing everyone arousing from their slumber. They were too tired to make a fuss, thus ensuring the guard some safety and peace. He glanced into the Joker's cell and stopped dead in his tracks.

The cell was empty.

The guard, sure it was from lack of sleep, blinked and looked closer into the cell. It was totally deserted. Confused and now afraid, he used his walkie-talkie to question another guard, but this one was higher up in the ranks. "Checking up on cellmate 370082…was he released?"

"Uh, that would be no."

"Was he moved at all?"

"No. He's still assigned to his same cell," replied the respondent

"He's not in the cell," Cricket finally alerted.

A troop of four guards and the chief marched down to meet Mike Cricket. The chief looked into the cell. He unlocked it and looked around again. Yup, the Joker was indeed gone. The chief slammed the door shut. Unsatisfied and now spooked, he ordered a lock down and a thorough search through the whole facility and grounds. He called up Commissioner Gordon with the bad news.

"He's gone? I thought you guys had the highest security! Did you run the security tapes? The mayor is supposed to be visiting the asylum today you know. " replied Gordon, clenching the phone tightly, his face white.

"Sorry sir. We're running the tapes now. Not a hint of an escape is shown." Chief Gladstone replied, baffled. "I don't know how this could have happened."

Commissioner Gordon's heart dropped. He leaned forward and closed his eyes. He could already feel a headache setting in. He took a deep breath, definitely not prepared for another round with this whacko. How did he escape and what was his plan?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I want everyone on the alert for him! Get a hold of every media station, spread the word!" Gordon ordered. Just when Gotham was starting to somewhat heal, the Joker makes it all chaotic again.

The Batman was already aware of the Joker's escape, yet had no way to contact him. Where there was Batman, there was sure to be the Joker eventually. All he needed to do now was to wait.

Ten minutes later, every citizen of Gotham was staring at a television. Fear ran through their veins. The joker managed to escape the asylum. How? When? Was he going to attack Gotham again? The news casters didn't say much except that the Joker did escape and there were no theories at the time to guess how he pulled it off. Everyone was warned to stay in their homes at night and keep their doors and windows shut, but what was the point if the villain could free himself from a maximum security confinement, which was watched by hundreds of guards around the clock? The idea seemed silly to try to tip Gotham on how to stay safe.

Bruce Wayne lounged back on his couch, listening to the breaking news on his 52 inch plasma television. Life was easy as Bruce Wayne. His butler entered the luxurious living room, bringing a tray of breakfast tea, waffles, and a parfait. Bruce started inhaling the food, still watching the television intently.

"What do you plan to do when you meet him again?" Alfred, the butler, asked.

"I don't know. Depends what he's up to. I'll have to save Gotham as a prerequisite for getting him locked up again," Bruce replied simply, swallowing a forkful of waffles and then drinking some of the tea.

"Ah. Do you have any idea of what he's up to, Master Wayne?"

"Chaos. There's no way I can get into that sick mind Alfred."

Mayor Lizen was unnerved when his secretary announced that the visit of the asylum would have to wait. Actually it seemed everything would have to wait.

"Why?"

"The Joker managed to escape," Eglewood replied softly, hanging around the doorway to her boss' large office. The mayor's eyes widened. His heart began to pound. He was afraid. What if he was next on the Joker's assassination list? He had to get out of Gotham. There was no way he could deal with the Joker.

"When?" he asked, refusing to believe it.

"Overnight. No one knows how. It's all over the news," his secretary informed him. Mayor Linez switched on the large flat-screen television in his office. This was certainly news that was going to hang around for awhile.

"Commissioner Gordon wanted a meeting with you, as well as some important men from the police station and asylum as soon as possible" Englewood added.

"Of course. Have them all come by at 9 and we'll get it started."

At 9 A.M, twelve people sat at the conference table, not sure where to begin. "We know only so little about this guy…so how can we help stop him? The Batman will stop him. That's what he's here for…to save us from nut cases like him." The Mayor started. It was a very weak and disheartening introduction to the meeting.

"We shouldn't put all the responsibility on him. He's here to help, just like the police force is. We'll cooperate in any way we can, and I'm sure he'll do the same," responded Commissioner Gordon.

"Well then what do you think we should do?" the mayor inquired.

"I think we should wait until the Joker arrives. Until he does, we have to make sure everyone is extra-safe. Try and do a sweep over the criminals. Are there any connections? What about the ones running free? Capture anyone that is running out there. We need to be prepared this time around." Gordon replied, taking reigns of the situation.

"We've done this before. There aren't any known connections to those inside the asylum and prison. If there was, you would've known about it," Chief Gladstone said impatiently.

"Well then we better start locking up people."

"We would've done that if it was that easy. Besides, there's little room, if any, left inside the asylum and prison." The chief replied.

Gordon sighed. It shouldn't be that hard, but it was. Gotham was poor and crawling with bad people. "Well let's send them to facilities outside the city,"

"That costs extra money, and our neighboring cities are over-filled. We'll just have to deal with the Joker with our city conditions as is." The mayor replied.

"Raise our taxes." He said.

"Barely anyone can pay them now."

"Maybe big businesses can help…"

"If you're thinking Wayne Enterprises will hand over a billion dollars, you're out of your mind," the mayor argued.

"It's worth a try. We need an economic boost." Gordon responded with a shrug.

Lizen sighed heavily. What did they have to lose? He pushed a button on his phone. "Ms. Englewood, could you please set up a meeting with Wayne Enterprises sometime today please?" he asked.

"We need more of a plan than this though, because this will not work," the mayor insisted.

"Well we can always sit back and hope Batman wins again," Chief Gladstone interrupted.

"Yep, I think that's what we're going to have to do unfortunately. If anyone thinks of a better plan, we'll get another meeting together and figure this thing out," Mayor Lizen replied.

Meeting adjourned.

When the evening slowly crept up, Batman appeared in Gordon's office. Gordon immediately started asking Batman what he and the citizens of Gotham could do to help.

"Just stay out the way and no one will get dragged into it."

"You don't know that. The Joker doesn't have rules of his own. He can drag anyone he wants into this mess. He could drag me in for all it matters," Gordon replied.

"No, this time it will be different."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Gordon asked, but Batman was already gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Mayor Lizen drummed his fingers on his desk, very irritated. He could not pull the right strings to get the money needed to help clean up the city. He was cooling off right now, but at the time of the meeting with Wayne Enterprises it got very heated.

"We need help. Gotham needs help. All we're asking for is a little bit of a donation," Lizen said softly.

"I'm sorry, we can't do that. We're a private business and are already donating much of our money to other businesses," Gavin Caesar replied, shaking his head.

"You have billions of dollars. You must understand how bad of conditions Gotham is in for me to be asking you," the mayor protested.

"We can't. It'd be nice to fix our problems with money but it's not how it works."

"The mafia fixes their problems with money."

"Yes, but they're corrupted. We're not corrupted," chuckled Caesar.

"Then how is Gotham going to get better? We need the money. Money will clean up the city's streets. The crooks will be gone. Everything will be calm and peaceful."

"We have Batman though."

"He can't possibly take on all of Gotham's dirtiest men. We have to do something. Please. Just a few hundred thousand dollars if anything," Mayor Lizen begged.

"No, sorry."

"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but did Bruce Wayne himself have anything to say on the matter?"

"He said the money cannot be handed out to everyone in Gotham. There's simply not enough to go around."

Mayor Lizen's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

"It's nothing personal, Mr. Lizen. He sends his apologies of course."

"It's plenty personal! Are you hiding something? Why are you refusing to give the money?" Lizen outburst was easily heard from outside. His secretary stopped working for a moment, daring to eavesdrop.

"I'm not hiding anything, Mr. Lizen," Caesar replied calmly, straightening his posture. "Anyway, I have a business to help run. Sorry this meeting had to end like this," he apologized, getting up to shake Lizen's hand. Lizen walked to the window instead and studied Gotham.

"Just what are you trying to hide?" He muttered. Caesar left the room quietly and got into his Cadillac.

"He's onto me. He knows I'm obviously hiding something," Gavin Caesar spoke while standing in the basement level of a car garage.

"Uh huh…but you didn't give him any money?"

"No, of course not. I'm not a fool, Bruno. I managed to sneak into Wayne Enterprises and make it to the highest rung of the ladder…or just about, if Bruce Wayne wasn't in the way," he reminded his friend.

"You _are_ a fool, Gavin," Bruno corrected. The 5'9 man was heavy, but would not want to be angered. The man had the unfortunate gene of balding at an early age. He barely had any hair on his head at the age of 35. "You should've given him some rope to cling on to. How the fuck did you make it up that hierarchy?" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry!" Caesar defended. "I can call him and set another meeting," he blurted.

"It's too late. You are an idiot. The boss will not be happy with you once I report this to him," Bruno explained, starting to walk away to relay this to the Don.

"No no no! I can fix this!" Caesar announced in a hurry, running in front of Bruno.

"Oh? How?"

"Uh…Mayor Lizen is desperate. He won't think I'm onto something if I give him some money…"

"Yes, to chase after us!" Bruno reminded, his eyes narrowing. It looked even scarier with the dim lights creating shadows on his face. All you could see were his bright green irises.

"I can deter his focus to…to…that clown guy…"

"The Joker? Oh but isn't that why he's cleaning up the streets? For the Joker's arrival?"

"Well…yes…but I can tell him to focus only on the Joker."  
"Ah. How?"

"I'm a smooth talker, everything will go fine," Caesar assured his mafia brother. Still not totally onboard, Bruno grunted, but decided to give him a chance to smooth things over.

"All right, but I'll send the clown after you if you don't fix it," Bruno warned.

Darkness blanketed Gotham, and the low-lives began to crawl out, feeling something big was about to happen soon. After the clock in Gotham's main square gonged for its tenth and final time, Batman flew around Gotham in search of the Joker. He had a feeling he was here, he just didn't know where. Finally he heard the ear splitting cackle and raced to the sound.

Gavin found himself tied up to a chair in an abandoned warehouse. He tried to struggle free, wondering where the hell he was. The Joker leaped out of the shadows, kicking his captive in the side. "Yeah, you like that? Now how much of a smooth talker are you Mr. Caesar?" the Joker asked, getting close to Caesar's face. He then danced a short blade in front of his captive's eyes. "All of Gotham is going to hell. Same old story, blah blah blah. You're probably wondering why you've been dragged here." The two were alone in the warehouse. Old boxes lay around empty. Vermin ran lose from time to time.

The man's eyes grew wide with fear. This clown wasn't short of anything creepy, that's for sure.

"Ah yes. Well, you've been working for the mafia for a good number of years, and yet you've barely scrambled up anywhere in the hierarchy. Why?" The Joker asked, encircling him. "It's because the men in charge have better things to pay attention to. Your little family business has almost been frozen thanks to that Harvey Dent a few years ago. It's almost at a standstill now, with the cops now hounding you guys every day. You're slowly being downsized and there's not a thing anyone can do about it."

The captive looked up. He started sweating and was so close to start whimpering too.

"But don't worry. After you work for me, everything will be hunky dory!" he exclaimed, lifting his hands to the sky and waving his fingers. He laughed and then turned serious again.

"And I hear you're working for Wayne Enterprises _and_ the mafia? What a sneaky guy you are! I'm sure you can convince the rest of your pals in the mafia to work with me, can't ya Gavin?" he asked sincerely, giving Caesar a frown and big doe eyes.

"Why aren't you talking Gavin? Something got your tongue?" The Joker laughed after making this statement, holding his small knife to Gavin's tongue. The Joker let go and Caesar turned his head to the floor, trying desperately to ignore the villain.

"No no no Gavin we're not playing these little games. Look at me," the Joker demanded.

Caesar slowly lifted his eyes to meet the Joker's. "So, are you in?" Gavin didn't move.

"Well, don't be surprised if I show up at your next meeting with your 'family'" the Joker stated, turning away and sounding somewhat bored. "Whoa!" The villain exclaimed, feeling him suddenly being uplifted.

Batman had arrived, taking the Joker somewhere to talk. Perhaps on the roof of a nice tall skyscraper will suffice. The idea was certainly appealing.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Batman, long time no see." The Joker started after being set down onto the roof of a 10-story building.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble last time?" Batman scowled.

"Trouble?"

"Yeah, killing Mayor Dickinson," the superhero reminded.

"It was like him pouring gasoline all over himself and then handing me a lighted match." The villain defended. He cackled, seeing he struck a nerve in his opponent. Batman ignored his defense.

"Is Mayor Lizen safe during your visit?"

"How should I know?" Batman stared long and hard at the clown. It's hard to plan what someone who doesn't plan is going to do.

"You've got Caesar on board already, I can tell. He's easy to persuade," Batman started.

"Well technically he never answered me, so you would be wrong. You know he's working for the mafia?" the Joker inquired. Batman clenched his teeth. Working with the Joker was one of the most difficult situations he's ever been in.

"Why would he need the mafia? Why would _you_ need the mafia? Aren't they boring?"

The Joker dodged the first question. "I get lonely, Batman. I can't let these untamed mad dogs run around on the streets. I'll take responsibility for them and teach them how to do real tricks!" the Joker exclaimed, and then started sprinting toward the edge of the building. Batman launched his grapple hook to the villain and snapped him back. "Why must you be in charge of everything? I was doing fine on my own until you busted into my one-on-one session with your traitor," the Joker hissed.

"You're going back to the asylum." Batman stated, deciding to end this unpleasant conversation.

"But that's where the freaks are!" the Joker protested.

"Then you'll fit right in again. Don't run away this time." The superhero said, hooking a line to the Joker's belt loop and taking off towards the asylum. The villain laughed all the way there, holding his own arms out as if he was flying himself. As soon as the two touched ground, the Joker was being dragged towards the front gates.

"BOOOOOM!"

The gates flew open, the asylum building turning into a fiery and bright explosion. Batman and the Joker dove to the ground to save themselves from injury. After the explosion subsided, Batman sat up and looked toward the Joker, full knowing the clown was behind this. The Scarecrow slowly appeared from the burning nuthouse, nearing Batman, but stopped a few inches from the superhero. The Joker got up and stood before the superhero as well. Seeing the two villains side by side, right in front of the sitting and lone superhero made it seem unfair.

"Guess that didn't work out." The Joker stated, shrugging his shoulders. He sighed and then kneeled down, getting eye-level with Batman. He licked his lips before speaking again. "Don't struggle; it will only make it worse."

Confused and not wanting to wait to find out, Batman jumped up before the Scarecrow started pulling out what seemed like a spray-painting can. Batman kicked the Joker in the face and managed to pin him down with his foot on the clown's back temporarily, while following through with a kick to the Scarecrow's stomach. The Scarecrow doubled over, dropping the spray can. The Joker, still pinned down, grabbed it from the ground in front of him, lobbing it over to his side-kick. The Scarecrow caught it, now fully recovered from the kick and successfully sprayed the substance in Batman's face.

Immediately, Batman started thrashing around after stumbling to the ground. He shut his eyes tight and flopped around like a fish out of water. The pain was agonizing and tortured his whole body, but the hallucinogens were worse. He blindly kicked and yelled to his kidnappers, but was already dragged to a stretcher and strapped down. He was then moved into a van and at this point he could only focus on breathing. The substance which the Scarecrow sprayed was making him lose almost all his strength. The Joker squatted beside him in the back of the van and lectured in a calm voice about how the Batman would finally die. On the way to the unknown destination, the pain in Batman's body was subsiding quickly, with only a tingling sensation substituting now, yet the hallucinogens still haunting his brain. It was very hard to think in such a chaotic, but exhausted state. Darkness surrounded him finally and his mind drifted to Nightmare Alley.

Everything was blurry at first, but Bruce Wayne's vision eventually focused. Bats flew in the night sky, filling the dark blue with moving black. They screeched continuously while Bruce found himself in front of the old, and surprisingly erect, Wayne Manor. Apparently, he was trying to find his way in, as something or someone was desperately needed from inside. All of the entrances were blocked by the Joker's henchmen as he made his way around. His heart pounded, feeling the clock continue to tick as he repeatedly failed to get into his house. Just as he was about to give up, he remembered the hidden entrance in the southeast wing. He moved into action and attached a grapple hook to the top of the well once he made his way into the garden. Bruce slowly climbed down, but couldn't find the small entrance to the large cave at the bottom. He was trapped, and to his horror, the Joker stood over the well, looking down at his fallen prey. The villain grinned, and a whole group bats flew out of his mouth, shooting directly toward the victim. These bats were different for any of the bats Bruce has seen. They had a dark red glint in their eyes. They were carnivorous bats and stories were told of dogs being picked clean in five minutes. The bats swooped down toward him. Claws attacked his face and neck. Blood raced down his face and arms. The claw marks stung and the bite marks burned.

Bruce Wayne was dying.

People say that if you die in your dreams, you die in real life…


	5. Chapter 5

"Mom! Dad!" Bruce greeted with a grin while seeing his parents. They smiled and had their arms open, ready to embrace their son. He fell into them, and they closed their arms tightly around him. "I've missed you so much." He said quietly. This is the happiest he ever felt.

"Seems like you've made quite a turn-around for Gotham," spoke Bruce's father, smiling proudly after their moment.

"I guess…The Joker's still out there…" he sighed in disappointment, looking down at the wet pavement, in where it seemed was Gotham. He was half expecting to see all of the real Gotham below him.

"Well, monsters don't live here, that's a fact" spoke Mr. Wayne. Bruce only managed to give a half-smile at this comment.

"Oh Bruce, we're proud of you. Don't think anything else," Mrs. Wayne chirped, following with a quick kiss on her son's cheek. Bruce gave a hollow smile. It was really hard to be dead and realize that you couldn't help anyone anymore. He was depressed. His parents decided to leave some time for their son. They decided to go for a quick stroll together, while Bruce exhaled deeply and sat himself on the curb, not caring that his pants get wet.

"Hey Bruce," a familiar voice greeted him. He felt the figure sit next to him on the curb. He finally looked over.

"Hey Rachel," he replied, feeling himself perk up already.

"Bruce, you did what you could. Gotham doesn't need Batman anymore anyway," she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Well now the Joker's going to rule all of Gotham and they are held hostage," Bruce complained. He felt like he needed to go back. "This is messed up. I shouldn't have left so early…why was I chosen now?" he ran his hands through his hair, wanting to pull out every strand.

"Bruce, you're no longer Batman, and never will be again. Don't let this haunt you," Rachel consoled, rubbing his back lightly.

"Did he stay when I left?' he asked, not really expecting an answer. Obviously not, because Bruce Wayne was Batman. Rachel could only sigh. The two intertwined their hands together and just sat in silence on that gloomy day.

* * *

"Uh…guys?" the Joker called out from the back of the van. He felt for Batman's pulse again. Nothing. He slapped Batman in the face a few times. Seeing this was ineffective, he then took him by the shoulders and started shaking him violently. Batman wouldn't wake up. The Joker felt very confused and at defeat. How was he supposed to go on without Batman?

"What?" the Scarecrow finally called back, almost in irritation.

"He's dead." The Scarecrow looked back, with his eyebrows raised. He could not believe it. It seemed unreal for the villains to have succeeded finally. After years of haunting and terrorizing Gotham, they could finally do it in peace and with little hesitation. The city would be theirs. This victory seemed to be handed to them though. They didn't like that though, especially the Joker.

"Drop him off at the hospital," the Joker said at last. The driver swerved the van to the left and was only two minutes from arriving to the new destination.

* * *

"Rachel, I'm sorry," Bruce said after a long silence.

Rachel looked quizzically at him. "What for?"

"A few years ago, the Joker had you and Harvey Dent tied up…I didn't get to save you."

Rachel seemed stung at this memory. She looked down and wiggled her fingers free from Bruce's. "I miss him a lot, Bruce. I'm slowly healing, and it's time for me to move on I know."

"Why aren't you with him then?"

"He just…he never arrived," Rachel answered, starting to tear up.

"Aw, Rach, I'm so sorry." Bruce consoled, wrapping his arms around her.

* * *

Finally, the van came to a halt, and the Joker dragged Batman out, laying him in front of the emergency room exit. He jumped back inside, slammed the doors shut as the van raced off, giving an echoing screech with its tires.

"Wow, what happens now?" The Scarecrow asked.

"I don't know, let the city handle it. I'll be at home, enjoying some time off," the Joker replied with his bored look. "I would've been enjoying my time torturing Batman if your mace didn't kill him." He added, his eyes glaring at his sidekick.

"It's not mace, and it shouldn't have killed him, obviously." The Scarecrow retorted.

"Well it did, thanks to you." The Joker finished the conversation.

* * *

"OH MY GOD!" screamed a nurse, running out and seeing Batman's lifeless body. A group of nurses and doctors raced out behind her, all cluttering around the hero. They took immediate action and took him to the ER. Hopefully he could be saved! There was much commotion as the body armor was stripped away from him, but no one dared to take of the mask.

"One, two, three, clear!" a doctor called, and shocked Batman's body. Unsuccessful, he tried again. "Charging…up the voltage…One, two, three, clear!" he yelled again, giving another shock to Batman. The body continued to stay lifeless. The room was full of anxiety; everyone showed it. The doctor who was trying to jumpstart the hero's heart was now on the brink of breaking down. This was more nerve-racking than when he did a kidney transplant on the mayor a year and a half ago. Clearly frustrated, but determined, he decided to try again. "Up the voltage again…One, two, three, clear!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay, we have a signal finally," the doctor said in the most professional and calm voice he could manage. He wanted to scream out in joy. There was applause and cheers filling the emergency room. The doctor felt like he just won a championship.

* * *

"The Joker said what?" Bruno yelled, after finally tracking his friend who was finally free.

"He said he wanted to run the mafia," Caesar explained again. "And I think it's a good idea. He'll be on our side. We won't have to worry about him chasing after us."

"Uh…this is the Joker we're talking about," reminded Bruno. "He doesn't have plans. He wants whatever he feels like at that moment. He could kill our whole family."

"He wouldn't. He's a man of his word. He's crazy, but honest and pretty loyal."

Bruno grunted. Obviously they weren't going to accept. "How do we contact him?"

"He said he'll show up at our next meeting."

Bruno snorted. "Yeah okay. I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a GPS to our meeting place. Whatever. Leave the clown to play with Batman."

* * *

"Bring him to the recovery room, let him heal," the doctor ordered. Batman was whisked away, still in his mask. He had a room all to himself, but various journalists and cameramen were trying to sneak in throughout the day. Three guards stood in front of his room, trying to keep Batman safe from the media.

"This just in, Batman is at Gotham General Hospital, recovering from what seemed to be a fatal poison that entered his body. Though it took hours to make him well again, doctors say he'll be fine after a bit of rest."

The Joker smiled hearing this. "Oh goodie, I DO have a playmate!" he yelped, a smile suddenly emerging on his face. He jumped off his old and ratty couch, landing onto a table, which was covered in various knives. He took an armful and cackled. He then shot his hands in the air, knives flying in every direction. "He he he, hoo hoo hoo, ha ha ha. HE'S ALIVE!"

* * *

Batman's eyes flickered opened. He took in his surroundings. It was obvious he was in a hospital. He found himself wearing a hospital gown and his mask, what an odd mix. He assumed no one took off his mask at any time if it was still on. His brain began reeling, trying to think of how to get out without anyone knowing. He jumped out of bed and looked out the window. Fifteen floors high…not the best idea to jump without his cape. He grabbed the telephone on the bedside table.

"Alfred, I need you to come to my hospital room with my armor," Batman demanded with his deep and crackly voice.

"Be there right away, sir," Alfred replied.

"Uh, this is gifts from the family and such...you know superheroes," said Alfred after getting a long hard stare from the guards. They finally let him in Batman's room reluctantly.

* * *

"The clown's late." said the Don, leering ahead of him at the rest of the big men in the mafia. Of course, Caesar was there too. The Don, Luis Armani, found it especially important that Caesar was there. Besides, he's the one who started this whole mess.

"Oh contraire!" exclaimed the Joker from the distance. Everyone looked around. He finally emerged from the shadows. "I think I can assume that you all agreed to me changing the hierarchy of your uh…play group," he started, now at the end of the table. Everyone watched intently.

"That would be a no, actually," Armani spoke, readjusting his sleeves of his business suit.

"Really?" the Joker asked, playing along and giving a quizzical look. "Well maybe I can change your mind." He pulled out a knife and slammed it into the table. Only the handle stuck out. "I…think…that you will find….I can be a VERY…good…leader," he said through clenched teeth, yanking the knife free from the table. By the time the Joker looked up at the mafia again, they were all standing up, two ready to fire their guns at him.

"And how do you expect us to assume that? You do all your work alone," Armani spoke calmly, now feeling safe with guns pointed at the clown. The Joker looked to the two gunmen with much irritation before starting to talk again.

"I've been one-on-one with Batman many, many times. You have not. Persuasive yet?" he asked. Armani sighed. Maybe he had a point. After all, they didn't know what to expect from Batman anyway besides a giant bat and some fighting. Maybe Batman did have a weakness. Hell, everyone had a weakness.

"Fine mister clown, we'll try you out." Armani agreed.

"Try me out?" the Joker asked, a bit offended.

"Yes. If we don't like your work well then…" he drifted off.

"You _will_ like my work though so why are we discussing this?" the Joker asked annoyed. Armani just shrugged his shoulders and he finally told his men to lower their guns.

"Okay, bye bye mister clown," Armani said, ending the conversation. The two men who lowered their guns were now taking the Joker by the arms and leading him out of the room. The Joker did not appreciate this, but hey, this was the last time they'll boss him around. He's the new head honcho.

* * *

"Where the hell did he go?" a guard exclaimed, seeing the hospital room empty. He then saw the window open. Uh-oh. He held his breath, hoping not to see what he was thinking to see when looking down. There was nothing seen below except an empty sidewalk. Well, that was somewhat good. Now where did he go then? Maybe that old dude...Alfred...did have something to do with his escape.

Batman sat in the cave below the burned down Wayne Manor. He needed to think about some things. Where else better than with his own kind? Bats encircled him as he walked through a possible plan of defeating the Joker, once and for all. He wasn't necessarily worried about the Scarecrow, just about who made his spray lethal? It never had such strong effects on the superhero before…obviously someone rigged it. Who would do that though?


End file.
